A super-powerful reactor is being stopped in Finland: prices have soared among neighbors

On September 10, the most powerful nuclear reactor in the country will be stopped for repair in Finland. Wholesale electricity prices have already jumped in neighboring countries — in The Baltic States and even Sweden.

On September 10, the operator of the Olkiluoto NPP will stop the third power unit for preventive maintenance. Its capacity of 1.6 GW is almost half of the total capacity of the country's nuclear power industry, according to ENTSO-E.

"According to the schedule, power generation at the block will resume on October 30 after a break of about 50 days," the TVO operator reports.

According to him, during the planned work, about 2 thousand service operations will be performed, including a total of about 6,000 separate stages. In addition to TVO's own staff, about 1,000 specialists from contractors are involved in the work.

TVO clarified that there will be fuel overload and related inspections, as well as repair work and inspections of the reactor's main circulation pumps.

"Towards the end of the operational cycle, certain technical malfunctions were detected in the operation of the main circulation pumps, but power generation was continued at a reduced capacity (about 1300 MW). Other important tasks include cleaning and inspection of steam generators, as well as pressure testing of turbine installation systems. In addition, a set of regular preventive maintenance, inspections, repair and testing of equipment will be carried out," the Finnish operator said.

The shutdown of the third Olkiluoto power unit, which has not yet occurred, has already led to a jump in wholesale electricity prices in Finland. According to the NordPool exchange, if on September 8 the average daily price was 18 euros per MWh, then on September 9 it increased more than fivefold to 100 euros. During peak hours, the cost will rise to 230 euros.

It is significant that today's price will be more than twice as high as the average monthly prices of September and August. They amount to just over 40 euros per MWh.

This turnaround in prices is explained by the fact that the third power unit accounts for up to 17% of the current demand capacity in Finland. And its loss from generation for 50 days may require more imports and gas generation at fuel prices above $ 900 per thousand cubic meters.

The upcoming shutdown of the reactor was immediately affected in neighboring countries. So, in the Baltic States, the average daily price increased on September 9 from 52 euros to 100-129 euros per MWh, and in Sweden - to 79-119 euros. The latter is the main exporter of electricity to Finland and is sensitive to demand.

The current price increase is obviously not the limit. Unstable weather returns in autumn, while Finland's wind farms account for half of the current electricity production. And any windlessness will lead to an additional jump in prices.